Johanna Konta to miss Australian Open

Johanna Konta has not played a match since August due to persistent knee injuries and the British player is set to miss the Australian Open for the same reason.

Konta always enjoyed playing in Australia because she grew up in the country and lived there until 14 years of age despite switching allegiance to the UK upon becoming a British citizen in 2012. Her career-best result came at the event in 2016 when she reached the semifinal of the event but she won't be able to attend it in 2021.

The reason is a persistent knee injury that she has carried around for quite some time now and it's left her unable to play since August of this year. The situation is quite serious for Konta who has spoken about the injury before explaining that it is a potential threat to her career and her future in tennis is now in doubt. The 30-year old also tied the knot earlier in the year expressing a desire to start a family which would also complicate things in her career.

A representative of Konta said that she was 'currently working to assess' if she will attempt to play in Melbourne. While her vaccination status is unknown (and being jabbed is a requirement to play in Melbourne) the worsening state of her knees is the more fundamental obstacle. Having missed Wimbledon because of Covid, on the eve of a US Open that would be won by Emma Raducanu she pulled out of the event, and has not competed since.